It’s already hard as hell for a person like me to get a job, and it’s gonna get worse. First, whether you want to hear this or not, I am black. Also, I am young. On top of being young and black, I am a male from the inner city (24th Street, baby). I do not cut my hair because, in my opinion, it is bad luck. My work history is crappy and my criminal record is not exactly sparkling clean. Nevertheless, I am smart and I work hard. None of that will matter, once I’m a felon.
Many felons are smart. Many ex-cons are smart. None of that really matters. You are deemed a criminal once you check “yes” on that question of “have you ever been convicted of a felony?” So what do we (as a soon-to-be felon, I have to include myself from now on) do now?
We sling rock.
All of these college credits, good (actually, half-decent) grades that I’m making now will mean absolutely nothing come December or January. An illegal alien who ‘no habla ingles’ would get a job before a felon who is fluent in English and proficient on the computer. Why?
I know why, I'm just not going to say it. I have already pissed off enough people just by writing this, so let me get back to the rock-slinging part.
We sling rock. We are left with no choice. I know felons with college degrees who cannot get a job, so they’re forced to sell dope. Felons have bills to pay and mouths to feed just like people with spotless records. We are good fathers, husbands, brothers, sisters, cousins, lovers, students, etc. We just screwed up.
I know for a fact that when I’m released, I’m getting buck wild. You can take that to the bank, baby. I am getting stupid when I’m released. Think about it: a felon pays taxes too, but a felon cannot vote. If I can’t vote, I won’t pay taxes. That sounds dumb, but it is the truth. Why strip a man of his constitutional right to vote because of a mistake he has made, but still enforce the constitutional responsibility to pay taxes? That is retarded, in my opinion.
Since I won’t be able to get a job, vote, or carry a firearm, what do I do to provide for myself? Sling rock, push pills, dump weed, and just about everything imaginable. Why not? I’m a felon. I’m already a criminal in the eyes of most people before the felony, think about what I’d look like afterwards. It is going to be bananas, baby.
You’re probably thinking "this (expletive) is dumb as hell," but I’m speaking from the heart. If you came up like me, you’d think the same exact thing. Am I worried about going back to jail? Hell no; you’d have to catch me to sweat me.
The crazy thing about it all is the fact that what I did does not constitute a felony. I haven’t raped, killed, shot at, sold dope to, or run over anybody. Nothing violent, nothing drug-related, just a simple mistake made by a simple man who was starving (literally) at the time. Like I said, if you came up the way I came up, you would probably do the same exact thing.
"You can always get a job," "Go to Labor Ready," "Go to McDonald’s," and quotes like that are complete garbage. McDonald’s wouldn’t hire me before I got my record and they sure as heck won’t hire me afterward. Labor Ready is a temp service, and I can’t support myself working a temp job. If you can, more power to you. Me? Hell no, I eat like five people.
I may get lucky? I’d have a better chance of getting struck by lightning three times in the same exact location. I have had numerous run-ins with the swine in blue and I haven’t served any more than two days in city jail. Police already think I sling rock, but every time they stop me, I’m clean! The Jackson and Johnson County judicial systems would love to make an example out of me. But I ain’t tripping.
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